Planktonic Crenarchaea are thought to play a key role in chemolithotrophic ammonia oxidation, a critical step of the marine nitrogen (N) cycle. In this study, we examined the spatial distributions of ammonia-oxidizing Crenarchaea across a large (approximately 5200 km) region of the central Pacific Ocean. Examination of crenarchaeal 16S rRNA, ammonia monooxygenase subunit A (amoA) genes, and amo...

Reservoirs exhibit gradients in conditions and resources along the transition from lotic to lentic habitat that may be important to bluegill ecology. The lotic-lentic gradient can be partitioned into three functional zones: the riverine, transitional, and lacustrine zones. We measured catch frequency and length of bluegills (Lepomis macrochirus) captured along the periphery of these areas (i.e....

[1] Sediment flux from rivers to oceans is the fundamental driver of fluvio-deltaic morphodynamics and continental margin sedimentation, yet sediment transport across the river-to-marine boundary is poorly understood. Coastal rivers typically are affected by backwater, a zone of spatially decelerating flow that is transitional between normal flow upstream and the offshore river plume. Flow dece...

Immune responses have the important function of host defense and protection against pathogens. However, the immune response also causes inflammation and host tissue injury, termed immunopathology. For example, hepatitis B and C virus infection in humans cause immunopathological sequel with destruction of liver cells by the host's own immune response. Similarly, after infection with lymphocytic ...

Steroidogenic factor-1 (SF-1), a nuclear receptor transcription factor, has a pivotal role in adrenal and gonadal development in humans and mice. It was previously shown that Sf-1 dosage critically regulates adrenal size and function in mice, while in humans mutation of a single SF-1 allele leads to adrenal and/or gonadal dysgenesis. Recent studies have elucidated the role of an increased SF-1 ...

BACKGROUND To assess the extent and nature of the dysfunction surrounding aneurysms of the left ventricle (LV), we examined the parameters of local and global three-dimensional shape, size, and function of LVs of eight patients with histologically confirmed anterior fibrous aneurysms. METHODS AND RESULTS Three-dimensional reconstructions of each LV were made from 10-12 short-axis fast cine-an...

Identifying the spatiotemporal evolution characteristics of rural settlements and their driving factors is great significance to layout optimization settlements, intensive economical use land, preparation land space planning. Focusing on mountain–plain transitional zone Dujiangyan City, China, as study area, this paper employs methods including landscape pattern index, kernel density estimation...